The Roosters will face off against Manly in next Sunday's NRL grand final, after ending the Newcastle Knights fairy tale finals run.

SYDNEY ROOSTERS 40 bt NEWCASTLE 14 at Allianz Stadium.

BIG names win big games and the Sydney Roosters heavy artillery delivered right on cue Saturday night, ensuring the NRL's showpiece Grand Final next Sunday will be rugby league's equivalent of Fight Club when the minor premiers meet heavyweight contenders Manly.

The Bondi Junction club's star-studded roster of Sonny Bill Williams, Michael Jennings, Mitchell Pearce, James Maloney, Jake Friend and the evergreen Anthony Minichiello ensured the Roosters cut Newcastle to pieces from long-range, advancing the club to its sixth grand final in 13 seasons.

Sweeping aside the week from hell after the Roosters were forced to deal with irregular human growth hormone and testosterone test results for some players being leaked publicly, first-year NRL coach Trent Robinson commended the resilience displayed by his players.

Danny Buderus, in potentially his final match, has been taken to hospital after being knocked out attempting to tackle Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

"It was a challenging week and it was the players that got us through. We had really good strong management from the club and the players responded really well," Robinson said.

"They knew it was wrong to put those guys on the front page and they supported them quickly. There's a lot of pessimism in our sport when it comes to us older guys about what happens in our game.

"The guys knew what they did, they were happy with what they'd come to and the boys decided to get going on Thursday morning.

Mitchell Pearce, Aidan Guerra and Sonny Bill Williams of the Roosters celebrate after Guerra scored a try during the NRL Preliminary Final match between the Sydney Roosters and the Newcastle Knights.

"They came in, talked about it and they were the ones that kept pushing it, they were ready to go. The way that those guys played today was impressive."

Fasten your seat belts, because if the recent form line of brutal, relentless and absorbing contests between the Roosters and Manly is anything to go by, the grand final promises to deliver a contest akin to two junk yard dogs fighting over a bone.

In three clashes this year, the Tricolours and the Sea Eagles have served up some of the best games of the season, with the match-up of halves Pearce and Maloney against Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran the stuff promoters' dreams are made of.

Knights halfback, Jeremy Smith, has been placed on report for unnecessary pressure to the head.

Adding another brilliant edge to the contest, Manly superstar Foran and Roosters halfback Pearce are best mates who went to high school and played together at North Sydney's Marist College.

Of the three previous games in 2013, the Roosters have won 3-0.

Robinson said injured Roosters backrower Boyd Cordner was a chance of returning from an ankle injury for the battle of the beaches NRL decider, with the coach also praising superstar Williams for soldiering through victory over the Knights with a virus.

Daniel Tupou flies high to score for the Roosters.

"It feels that we've progressed another week but the ultimate goal is to win. Really happy for the guys and what we've done in getting to the grand final but we've got to keep focused about the win," Robinson said.

The Newcastle fairytale became a Mt Everest assignment when inspirational captain Danny Buderus was knocked out in the 18th minute and forced off on a medicab stretcher.

Buderus was on the wrong end of a Jared Waerea-Hargreaves accidental elbow.

Sydney Rooster's coach Trent Robinson and fullback Anthony Minichiello speak to the media after their side's win over Newcastle.

Roosters captain Anthony Minichiello could hardly wipe the smile off his face about the prospect of playing in a sixth grand final for the club, with the possibility of captaining the Tricolours to a premiership.

"Manly are just a tough team. They don't give in. It's going to be a huge match. We've had some tough games against them this year. Really low scoring games. Defensive games, very physical. So we expect no different," Minichiello said.

THE Roosters have enjoyed an outstanding season, claiming the minor premiership in Trent Robinson's first year as coach.

But it will all count for very little if supercoach Wayne Bennett and his Knights can deny them a grand final berth against the Manly Sea Eagles in tonight's preliminary final at Allianz Stadium.

Robinson admitted the Roosters' ASADA drama this week had proven an unwanted distraction but the Knights have had a distraction of their own, with Bennett refusing to end the rumours linking him with a move to the Cowboys.

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Comments on this story

Mick of gods country Posted at 7:58 PM September 28, 2013

I hope the Knights win. I've waited 16 years for redemption from Drugcastle.

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